EDITORIAL
Rabbi Leizer Levin
In the collective nishama, or soul, of the
Detroit Jewish community, there is now an
emptiness, a vacuum, with the passing of
Rabbi Leizer Levin.
Rabbi Levin was the person within this
community that many relied on for his
strong leadership and his revered knowl-
edge. He was a unifying force who settled
issues of intense complexities. But there
was so much more to this man than the
titles we give one another while we're on
this earth.
Rabbi Levin knew your name He knew
your hurts; he knew what to say. He drew
from the direct student-teacher link he had
as student of the famed Chofetz Chaim in
Poland. But what he also drew from was a
tremendous heart and a deep, wonderful
soul. He taught us by living his word, by
showing us that in 1992 we can learn
from the Torah and live by it.
There are so many in this community
who have stories about Rabbi Levin, be it a
telephone call of support they received or a
kind word he gave them at a time of deep,
personal importance. We'd wonder how he
knew.
He knew.
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We Still Dream, Dr. King
The question came up Monday during
the City of Southfield-sponsored program
honoring the late Martin Luther King Jr.
The question: Would the world be any diff-
erent if Dr. King were still alive?
It is his memory and his work of peaceful
confrontation for civil rights and basic
human dignity that we remember. We talk
often today, even in this newspaper, about
the continuing separation of blacks and
Jews. But Dr. King was a man who
brought people together. There are many of
us who were made more aware of the
struggle for civil rights because of Dr.
King.
True, the issues in the 1960s were
perhaps more basic. Voting rights and the
right to attend a certain school were often
the issues at hand. Now, we're talking
about internal struggles within -the black
community, issues that are perhaps more
socio-economic and more complex. These
are issues that haven't been helped by
major lines of division within the black
community itself, nor have they been
helped by the devastating grip of drugs,
teen-age pregnancy and crime within our
cities.
The good news is that the rise and
strength of the black middle and upper
middle class is exactly what Dr. King mar-
ched for. Our black neighbors in our com-
munities were able to move on in this
society because of what Dr. King did out in
public and behind the scenes for them. So,
it's no wonder that this man is a hero of
history. His achievements are important
for all of us.
We miss Dr. King. We wish we he were
here today. He was a focal point, someone
who could bring us all together. On Mon-
day at the Southfield Pavilion, there were
more than 1,200 people — blacks, whites,
Christians, Jews, Moslems — all together to
remember a dream. By becoming part of
ethnic diversity within a community, we
live his dream.
Who knows? If Dr. King were alive today,
maybe there wouldn't be so much talk
about black and Jewish or black and white
separation. Maybe we'd truly work on
what we share instead of dwell on what
divides us. If he were still here, we know
we'd all be a great deal better off. The
blindfolds of mistrust would be untied.
There would still be serious issues to
grapple with. But Dr. King had a way of
grabbing support by the wrist and pulling
it to his side.
We miss that. We still dream of that.
The Other Israel
For all the talk in Israel of peace negotia-
tions and early elections, perhaps the most
shocking news is the level of poverty in the
Jewish state.
Studies indicate that 17 percent of
Israelis are living under the poverty line,
the second highest proportion — after the
U.S., with 20 percent — of any country in
the industrialized world.
And as Tel Aviv correspondent Larry
Derfner notes (see Up Front, Page 11), the
true figures are much higher because the
study did not include recent immigrants
from the former Soviet Union, about 40
percent of whom are unemployed.
In addition, Israel has the highest gap in
the world between "haves" and "have-
nots": the wealthiest 10 percent of the
population make 55 times more money
than the poorest 10 percent.
For a country whose image is one of
6
FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 1992
egalitarianism, these figures are par-
ticularly disturbing. Most upsetting of all
is to contrast this level of poverty with the
Knesset's recent approval of an annual
budget that calls for large increases in
spending on West Bank settlements,
yeshivot and other institutions supported
by some Orthodox members of Knesset.
The issue transcends the ideological or
the religious. One need not be an opponent
of settlements or yeshivot to be outraged at
the way Knesset members voted that funds
intended for immigrants and others
without decent housing be spent to further
their political goals.
Sadly, Israelis have become inured to
such behavior from their political leaders.
But American Jews, who contribute ge-
nerously to Israel for social services, should
raise their voices in protest at such callous
disregard for the care of society's needs.
OPINION
Making A Case
For Judea, Samaria
SONDRA OSTER BARAS
I
am a Jewish citizen of
Karnei Shomron, Sam-
aria, Israel. I am fre-
quently referred to as a "set-
tler," although I don't think
the term properly encom-
passes what I am. Unfor-
tunately, I have on occasion
been called by members of the
extreme left a "phony hero"
or a "spoiled and frightened
parasite." I am neither of
these.
Allow me to introduce my
neighborhood and my neigh-
bors. Twenty-four years ago
we began to build small com-
munities on the barren hills
of Judea and Samaria. Pro-
pelled by the same ideological
commitment that moved the
first Zionist pioneers to drain
the swamps and build the ear-
ly towns and communities in
Israel, we too sought to create
new Jewish communities in
Israel.
The communities were
small at first, lacking in both
physical and economic in-
frastructure. The government
provided roads, utilities and
schools. The rest was up to us.
We built homes, yes, from
small apartments to large
villas. And we created produc-
tive communities. Our
schools are among the finest
in the country, as the results
of the recent national tests in-
dicate. Our teachers are ex-
traordinarily devoted to the
education of our many
children. We have created
extra-curricular programs,
Sondra Oster Baras is public
relations director for the
Karnei Shomron town
council.
adult education programs
and child development
centers. We have colleges and
technical education
programs.
The teachers and profes-
sionals are primarily
residents of Judea and
Samaria but we have provid-
ed employment for residents
of the Gush Dan and Jeru-
salem areas as well.
Unfortunately, we too have
unemployed citizens in our
communities. We are not ex-
empt from the nation's
general economic problems,
but neither are we their
cause.
Private initiative has been
largely responsible for the
ever-growing number of fac-
tories and small businesses
We are propelled
by the same
commitment that
moved the first
Zionist pioneers.
sprouting up in Judea and
Samaria. From builders and
skilled plumbers and car-
penters to high-tech profes-
sionals, our residents are
building towns and employ-
ing their residents.
And we are building public
institutions as well. Com-
munity centers, libraries,
sports clubs are slowly being
built, but with one major
disadvantage not enjoyed by
the towns of Kiryat Shmona
and Maalot. We are not reci-
pients of Jewish Federation
and United Jewish Appeal
funding as are the towns of
the Galil.
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